Southern Indiana Business Report
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Applied Research Institute, Crane Regional Defense Group and Indiana Economic Development Corporation hosted the annual Team Crane Congressional Breakfast and Reception July 9-10 in the nation’s capital. The series of events brought together government leaders, defense and technology firms and academia partnerships to learn about critical updates and developments across Indiana’s growing ecosystem.
Indiana Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young, and Indiana Representatives Larry Bucshon and Erin Houchin hosted the breakfast, sponsored by ARI, the Federal Manager’s Association (FMA) Crane Chapter 170, IEDC and Radius Indiana. Key leaders from Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, Naval Support Activity Crane and Crane Army Ammunition Activity attended the event and featured speakers discussed Crane’s impact to the Indiana ecosystem.
The theme for this year was “Building the Competitive Advantage through Enduring Collaboration.”
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and the largest tenant on NSA Crane. NSWC Crane fosters its innovation ecosystem with partner organizations to accelerate the development and transition of technical capability to the warfighter. NSWC Crane’s innovation ecosystem is comprised of well over 200 different organizations.
“We were thrilled to attend the Team Crane Congressional Breakfast and hear about Crane’s impact from representatives from the Indiana delegation, Strategic Systems Programs, Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO-IWS), Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), the Joint Munitions Command, and Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (OASD) for Industrial Base Policy (IBP),” said Dr. Angela Lewis (SES), NSWC Crane Technical Director. “We take pride in the fact that when customers come to Crane for help, they are not just getting Crane’s experts, but our whole ecosystem of incredible partners in industry, academia, and other government entities. Today’s event showcased those strong ties and helped build even more collaborative relationships for the future.”
annual Congressional Breakfast Reception July 15, 2024. (Photo courtesy Crane Regional Defense Group)
Keynote speaker Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe Jr. added how important collaboration at Crane and the surrounding area is to thrive.
“This event was an opportunity to recognize the role that Team Crane plays in ensuring America’s warfighter maintains a critical advantage in today’s threat environment,” said Wolfe. “Crane exemplifies the importance of delivering innovation through their strategic partnerships with academia, industry, and government, and our homeland is safer because of the work they do.”
Brooke Pyne, ARI’s executive vice president of Innovation and Strategy, emceed a portion of the event and explained how in addition to collaboration, history, service and dedication to the defense sector are engrained in our DNA.
“Indiana, especially Crane, hosts a variety of very dedicated and committed people,” said Pyne. “My grandfather, mother and stepmother all retired from Crane with a collective 100 years of service and civilian service. Now my sister works there and I worked there for nearly 18 years, but that is the normal! That is the uniqueness and difference that we have in the state of Indiana.”
IEDC Chief of Staff Vincent Ash Jr. highlighted the important role defense plays in the state’s economic development efforts.
“National security is a pivotal component of Indiana’s strategy to build an economy of the future, and we are grateful for our continued partnerships with our military installations in this effort.” he said. “Indiana is not only a critical supplier of our nation’s warfighter, but we’re developing and producing the materials that keep our country safe and secure – from medicines and agricultural products to energy, AI, semiconductors and more.”
For the third year, host CRDG and sponsors, Indiana Apex Accelerator and IEDC, brought together attendees throughout the defense ecosystem the evening before the breakfast for its annual networking event hosted in downtown Washington. More than 150 guests enjoyed conversation with fellow defense industry peers along with academic and government officials to discuss innovation, the current state of defense and future collaboration opportunities.
CRDG officers and members were available to discuss the organization’s role in the southern Indiana community as an effort to expand community support and advocate for Crane at local and federal levels.
“The networking environment was very exciting. This was the largest reception to-date, and it’s been our pleasure to provide this opportunity as a prelude to the Team Crane Breakfast,” said Kent Parisien, CRDG chair. “Our organization is growing rapidly and is a testament to the members and their commitment to elevating the strategic value of Crane and expanding southern Indiana’s defense innovation ecosystem.”
These partnerships with academia, industry, public-private organizations, and entrepreneurs not only resulted in delivery of innovative technology to warfighters but also significantly impact the regional economy. Through leveraging diverse workforce expertise, state-of-the-art laboratories, and hi-technology equipment, the collective innovation ecosystem provides agile, robust capability to the warfighter to better equip them with a decisive advantage over the nation’s adversaries. The annual event continues to grow and gain momentum since taking a break from 2020-2021, and organizers look forward to the collaboration and innovation to come from the connections made, as well as another successful event in 2025.